"In the late 1960s a building was constructed on the property that was strongly influenced by F. L. Wright, especially his Fallingwater-House. The new annex sits on the south side, in front of the existing building, and expresses itself as part of the entire complex through its positioning and its architectonic structure (opening, i.e. cantilevering to the south / cubic staggering of the volumes).

But simultaneously the new construction, which juts slightly out of the ground, distinguishes itself physically from the existing building in both its materialisation (concrete) and its architectonic formulation (concrete), and can also be read as a piece of stony garden (rock). The slightly raised surface is bounded to the south by the cube of the winter garden, which marks the edge of the embankment, and on the sides by two roof lights. The rain water is channeled over the cube into a water trough adjoining the winter garden to the east so that it can be utilized.

Internally, the building consists of a series of intertwined rooms that lead from the existing cellar through the main room to the slightly raised winter garden. The centre-piece, the main room, is naturally lighted by the two peripherially placed roof-lights (zenithal light) and via the winter garden (side light). Both interiorly and exteriorly the construction appears as a pure and seamless concrete solid, acquiring its materiality through imperfections produced by the shuttering (type 2) and the markings of the individual shuttering panels. The openings are glazed without frames.

David John is co-founder of DISC Interiors in Los Angeles. This is his personal journal, a collection of conversations with friends, makers, and artists, as well as his photographs. You Have Been Here Sometime. Feel free to contact:david ( at ) discinteriors.com